Austin County Limits

If Austin, Texas, has two things going for it, it's barbecue and live music. Here in Albuquerque, The County Line (9600 Tramway NE) has long served as an outpost for Austin's mesquite-smoked meats. But that's only half of the equation. To get the true flavor of a Texas barbecue in your craw, you need electric guitars ringing in your ears.

Rest in peace, King of Pop

By Gene Grant

One of the blessings we’ve gotten from Michael Jackson is the archive of filmed, documented milestones. Looking back, it can be considered the most public “progress report” of any entertainer in the last 45 years.

Garage rock with a pedigree

By Simon McCormack

What is Gregg Turner doing in Santa Fe?

That was the driving question that convinced us to give the Angry Samoans co-founder a call. Turner and his fellow Los Angeles-based Samoans helped usher in the first wave of punk during the late ’70s. Now he's a math teacher at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas.

LotaBanger

Anesthesia, Torture Victim and Sandia Man serve up of a hot, salted pit of headbanging on Friday, July 3, at the Launchpad. $5 ensures your neck will be good and warmed up for watching the weekend’s fireworks. 21+, doors open at 8 p.m. (Laura Marrich)

A new NOFX record is always a pleasant surprise since it means the band is still kicking after 25 years of hard skating and boozing. If you're waiting for the band to transform itself into a totally different beast after a quarter of a century, you'll have to keep waiting. There are a couple of Chuck Berry-style riffs on "We Called It America" and some rockabilly undertones on "Blasphemy (The Victimless Crime)." Other than that, Coaster is nearly indistinguishable from the other 10 LPs that preceded it. That's not necessarily a bad thing. The band still goes hard and refuses to wussify. That should keep folks still on the NOFX train onboard. (SM)

¡Mayday! • Demrick • DJ Stigmata • Septicemia Records • rap, hip-hop

By Adam Wood

I’m not sure that the concept of “genre” is really relevant anymore in the realm of music. The days of “pure” music are long gone, and while this might leave some “old-heads” grumbling over message boards about the loss of “real rap” or “real jazz,” I think that for the most part this is a good thing. The possibilities are more abundant than ever before as artists dip their fingers in any number of genres and traditions. ¡MAYDAY! is one group embracing this diversity in their quest for success…